Early History of the Methodist Episcopal Church


	This history appears in Chapter XCV of "History of South 
	Dakota" by Doane Robinson, Vol. I (1904), pages 544-551 and was 
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CHAPTER XCV

THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN SOUTH DAKOTA.

BY G. T. NOTSON, SECRETARY OF DAKOTA CONFERENCE.

	Ten years previous to the beginning of the Revolutionary war Methodism was 
introduced in America By a few humble immigrants at New York city. Here Philip 
Embury and his associates organized the first Methodist society, and in the year 
1768 built the first meeting house owned by our denomination in the new world.  
From the beginning the movement grew, and in response to urgent appeals, in 
1770, Mr. Wesley sent two missionaries to America to minister to his scattered 
flock in different parts of the country.  The appointment of Francis Asbury and 
Joseph Pilmoor was an event of far-reaching consequence in shaping the future 
growth and development of the movement known as Methodism in the United States. 
Of the latter little remains to be told of his ministry, hut the former Francis 
Asbury, was destined to soon become the first assistant to Mr. Wesley in 
superintending the work throughout the thirteen colonies, and upon the 
organization of the Methodist Episcopal church in 1784, at Baltimore, Maryland, 
was elected to the office of bishop, the first to he thus chosen and consecrated 
in America. Under his leadership Methodism developed from a scattered 
membership, few in number, into a great religious movement and at the time of 
his death, in 1816, numbered more than two hundred thousand members, with seven 
hundred itinerant ministers.  The itinerant circuit system developed by this 
great leader made Methodism primarily the home missionary agency in the 
evangelization of the pioneer regions of this country, and enabled the church to 
keep pace with the rapid settlement of the vast territory west of the thirteen 
original states.

	No settlement was overlooked by these heroic Methodist itinerants, and it 
is not surprising that the first person to perform a public act of worship 
within the bounds of our state was a young man named Jedadiah Smith, who had 
come under the influence of their fervent ministry in western New York, and 
after experiencing religion became a steadfast witness to the power of the 
gospel among the fur traders and trappers of the west. This well-authenticated 
event occurred on the deck of the "Yellowstone," near the mouth of the Grand 
river, June 2, 1823.  John Gardner, a young man, had been mortally wounded by 
the Ree Indians in the Ashley massacre, and in a dying condition was carried on 
deck of the "Yellowstone." An associate of Mr. Gardner wrote to his relatives in 
the east, of his death, and in relating the facts said: "Mr. Smith, a young man 
of our company, made a most powerful prayer which moved us all greatly, and I am 
persuaded John died in peace." At the time of this occurrence Jedadiah Smith was 
only eighteen years of age.  In the spring of the above year he came from New 
York to St. Louis and entered the employ of General Ashley. Before his death he 
became one of the most notable characters on the frontier, and by his bravery, 
unwavering Christian character and marked ability made an impression upon the 
great west that will never be effaced.

	When Smith was only twenty-two years of age General Ashley, upon his 
retirement, transferred his interests in the fur-trading business to him and he 
became the head of the firm of Smith, Sublette & Jackson.  In 1831 he met his 
death far down on the Santa Fe trail, in his twenty-seventh year, at the hands 
of the Comanche Indians. Of him Mr. William Waldo, quoted by Captain Chittenden, 
says: "Smith was a bold, outspoken, professing and consistent Christian, the 
first and only known among the Rocky Mountain trappers and hunters.  No one who 
knew him well doubted the sincerity of his piety. He had become a communicant of 
the Methodist church before leaving his home in New York, and in St. Louis he 
never failed to occupy a place in the church of his choice, while he gave 
generously to all objects connected with the religion which he professed and 
loved.  Besides being a hero, a trader and a Christian, lie was himself inclined 
to literary pursuits and had prepared a geography and atlas of the Rocky 
Mountain region, extending perhaps to the Pacific, but his death occurred before 
its publication."  His devoted Christian character will ever remain as an 
example to the youth of our state, and especially of his church, of the value of 
a consistent profession and life.  To this young man we owe our connection with 
the first public act of worship performed within the borders of South Dakota.

	At the session of the Upper Iowa conference held in Dubuque, Iowa, August 
29, 1860, Bishop Osmon C. Baker presiding, upon the earnest representations of 
Rev. George C. Clifford, the presiding elder of the Sioux City district, it was 
decided to appoint a preacher to that portion of the country lying between the 
Big Sioux and Missouri rivers in the proposed territory of Dakota.  Accordingly 
Bishop Baker appointed the Rev. S. W. Ingham to the Dakota mission.  Mr. Ingham 
was a young man, unmarried, and a graduate of Cornell College, and had only 
recently entered the ranks of the Methodist ministry. This was the beginning of 
work in South Dakota under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal church.

	On October 12, 1860, the young itinerant entered the bounds of his 
circuit, which in extent included all of North and South Dakota east of the 
Missouri river, much of which, however, was still in the possession of the Sioux 
Indians and the buffalo.  The first point visited by the pioneer gospel 
messenger was Elk Point; from thence he pushed on to Vermillion, where, on 
Sunday, October 14th, he preached the first sermon under the authority of his 
church in South Dakota.  The following Sunday lie conducted services in Yankton 
and on Thursday, October 24th, he visited Bon Homme and there performed the 
first marriage ceremony above the James river.  On the Sunday following he 
preached twice to about twenty-five people and one week later was again in 
Vermillion, having completed his first itinerary.

	On January 13, 1861, at Vermillion, was formed the first religious 
organization of any kind in the territory.  The occasion was the first visit of 
the presiding elder, the Rev. George C. Clifford, at which time a meeting of two 
days' duration was held, the first of the kind in the territory.  The Sacrament 
of the Lord's Supper was also administered for the first time. Among the new 
accessions to the ranks of Methodism in South Dakota at this time were two local 
preachers, Messrs. Bell and Metcalf, who, with a number of settlers, had located 
on Brule creek near the present village of Richland. (The latter was present at 
the first quarterly meeting and preached on Sunday evening, the first discourse 
to be delivered by a local preacher in South Dakota.  Later an organization was 
effected on Brule creek with ten charter members,  which  number soon increased 
to twenty-five.  Mr. Ingham records a visit to Ft. Randall in the summer of 
1861, where, on June 16th, he preached twice, and in the afternoon baptized the 
infant daughter of Captain J. B. S. Todd.  This was the second baptismal service 
performed in the territory among the new settlers, and the first to he performed 
by a Methodist minister.  During the two years of his labors in Dakota Mr. 
Ingham visited Richland, Fort Randall, Sioux Falls, Canton and other points 
where settlements had been made and held services.  So far as the writer is able 
to learn the only classes organized during his pastorate were at Vermillion and 
Richland, both of which were badly scattered by the Sioux uprising a short time 
after his departure. It was several years before the work was reorganized at 
Richland, but, excepting a short period of time, caused by the Indian 
excitement, there has been a visible organization at Vermillion since January 
13, 1861.

	Rev. Jason L. Paine, of the Upper Iowa conference, was appointed the 
successor of Mr. Ingham, and remained on the field one year. About this time the 
work in Dakota became a part of the newly organized Des Moines conference, and 
owing to the unsettled state of affairs throughout the country, and the evident 
lack of ability to supply the field with pastors the field was only cared for at 
irregular intervals for several years.  In connection with the work during this 
period we find the names of Daniel Lamont, Alum Gore, C. W. Batchelder, T. 
McKendree Stuart, J. T. Walker and John Plummer.  Doubtless there are others who 
deserve mention, but the imperfect records fail to reveal their names.  Previous 
to  1870 Vermillion, Yankton, Elk Point and Canton, in the order named, were 
organized as charges and included in the appointments of the Sioux City 
district, Des Moines conference.  In connection with the organization of the 
work at Elk Point it is proper to state that the first services held in that 
place were by E. C. Collins, a consecrated local preacher, residing at a 
settlement known as New Michigan, a few miles to the northwest of Elk Point.  
Mr. Collins was a young man possessing a high order of ability, and, 
notwithstanding his death in 1870, made an impression for good upon that section 
which remains to the present day.

	In 1871, under the leadership of the Rev. Fred Harris, the first church 
was erected at Elk Point.  Here at a later date the first parsonage was also 
built. In 1873 at the second session of the Northwest Iowa conference the work 
in South Dakota, comprising thirteen charges, with six hundred and eighteen 
members,  was organized under the name of the Yankton district, and the Rev. 
James Williams appointed presiding elder.  Three years later, on account of the 
ravages of the grasshoppers, which caused many of the settlers to leave, and all 
of the churches being very much weakened thereby, Bishop R. S. Foster 
discontinued the district and attached the remaining work to the Sioux City 
district, with the Rev. Thomas M. Williams presiding elder.  In 1879 the Yankton 
district again appears in the appointments of the Northwest Iowa conference with 
the Rev. Wilmot Whitfield as presiding elder. The same year the Black Hills 
district was constituted and the Rev. James Williams made presiding elder.

	In May, 1880, the general conference at Cincinnati, Ohio, through the 
earnest representations of the Rev. Lewis Hartsough, delegate from the Northwest 
Iowa conference, authorized the organization of the Dakota Mission conference. 
In accordance with this action Bishop Henry W. Warren presided at the first 
session of the mission conference held at Yankton, September 23, 1880, and 
completed the organization.  The Rev. Wilmot Whitfield was appointed 
superintendent. The mission conference started off with one thousand and fifty 
members and probationers, with nineteen charges, nine houses of worship and six 
parsonages, valued at seventeen thousand dollars.  During the previous year five 
thousand eight hundred dollars had been raised for ministerial support and one 
hundred and seventy-one dollars for all benevolences, sixty-five dollars of 
which was the missionary offering. There were fourteen Sunday schools with an 
aggregate attendance of nine hundred and sixty-six. The second session of the 
mission conference met October 6, 1881, at Sioux Falls, Bishop John F. Hurst 
presiding. The superintendent reported general prosperity throughout the 
mission. Ten new churches had been built.  There had been a good increase in 
membership, and all together the outlook was hopeful.  At this session the Rev. 
Thomas M. Williams was appointed superintendent, and the Rev. Wilmot Whitfield 
pastor at Yankton and the Rev. Lewis Hartsough to Sioux Falls. Of the twenty-
seven pastors assigned to work at this conference only two remain in active 
connection with the work at the present time, the Rev. O. A. Phillips and the 
Rev. G. J. Corwin.  We have now reached the period of rapid settlement and 
growth within the bounds of the conference.  The simultaneous settlement of that 
portion of South Dakota east of the Missouri river, and the springing up of 
towns along the newly extended lines of railway caused a remarkable increase in 
our work throughout every part of the conference, and at the third session of 
the mission conference, held at Parker, the work was divided and the 
superintendent, the Rev. Wilmot Whitfieid, was appointed presiding elder of the 
Yankton district and the Rev. Lewis Hartsough of the Huron district.  Forty-two 
preachers were assigned to as many charges and several appointments  were left 
to be supplied.

	This session of the mission conference was held under the shadow of a 
great bereavement. On August 4, 1882, the Rev. Thomas M. Williams, the 
superintendent of the mission, while in attendance upon a quarterly meeting at 
Bridgewater, was taken suddenly ill and one week later, August 11th, passed 
away.  Mr. Williams was a man of fine presence, possessing a high order of 
ability.  As presiding elder and superintendent he had endeared himself to the 
ministry and membership of the church.  At the time of his death he was just 
completing his fiftieth year, twenty-four of which he had spent in the ministry 
of tile Methodist Episcopal church. He was a native of New York and began his 
life work in that state.  Upon the organization of the Northwest Iowa conference 
in 1872 he was made one of the first presiding elders, and in 1876 he was 
transferred to the Sioux City district. During the trying period of 1876-79 he 
had oversight of the work in South Dakota.  Everywhere he went during the brief 
period of his superintendency he met with an ovation from the people he had 
formerly served. His death, notwithstanding his sudden summons, was a veritable 
triumph. He was a noble, self-sacrificing minister of the gospel and his memory 
is cherished by many who came under his influence in the formative period of our 
work in this state.

	So rapidly did the work develop during the next year it was found 
necessary at the fourth session of the mission conference, held at Huron, 
October 11 1883, to divide the conference into four districts.  The Rev. T. N. 
Pardee was appointed superintendent of the mission and presiding elder of 
Mitchell district; the Rev. Lewis Hartsough, presiding elder of the Yankton 
district; the Rev. William Fielder, presiding elder of the Huron district; and 
the Rev. William McCready of the Ordway district.  Seventy pastors were assigned 
to work and nineteen charges were left to be supplied.  Bishop Matthew Simpson 
presided over this conference, and gave to Methodism in South Dakota the motto, 
"Dakota for Christ."  The fifth annual session of the conference was held at 
Mitchell, October 10, 1884. Bishop E. G. Andrews presiding.  The evidences of 
expansion are still manifest. Eighty-six charges, with fifty-one churches and 
fifteen parsonages, are among the items reported in the statistics.

In harmony with the enabling act of the general conference, at the Sixth session 
of the mission conference, held at Blunt, Bishop Cyrus D. Foss presiding, the 
mission was organized as an annual conference.  This important event occurred on 
October 9, 1885.  The Dakota conference began its official existence with  
forty-two full members and nine probationers.  Of this number the names of 
fourteen remain on the conference roll, five are numbered among our honored 
dead, and the great majority in subsequent years transferred their conference 
relations elsewhere.  In the brief period of time from the organization of the 
mission conference in 1880 to the above date the membership increased to five 
thousand two hundred and nine. Four presiding elders' districts, with ninety-
three charges, constituted the appointments.  In this time churches were built 
and parsonages provided in many places.  From the time the first church was 
dedicated at Elk Point in 1871 to the organization of the annual conference in 
1885, sixty-two churches and seventeen parson-ages were erected, valued at one 
hundred and sixty-one thousand and seventy-nine dollars During the years 
immediately following Methodism kept pace with the rapid increase in population.

	In 1890 the membership reached nine thousand six hundred and sixty-three.  
The reaction which came with the financial crisis of 1893-97, and the successive 
crop failures, incident to the settlement of a new country, brought to us a 
period of years in which our statistics show no appreciable increase.  With the 
return of prosperity, Methodism has for several years shown a steady and 
substantial advance.  There are within the bounds of the Dakota conference one 
hundred and twenty-five charges under the supervision of five presiding elders, 
one hundred and seventy-two church edifices, many of them modern, up-to-date 
structures, and one hundred parsonages.  The approximate value of this property 
is five hundred and forty-five thousand seven hundred and seventy dollars, 
largely the accumulation of the past twenty-five years of effort in this field.  
The membership of the church reported at the annual conference in 1903 is eleven 
thousand four hundred and forty. There are two hundred and thirty-two Sunday 
schools, with a membership of seventeen thousand two hundred and eight. These 
items do not reveal the hardships and sacrifices endured by the ministry and the 
people that such results might be realized by the church.  Those who have had 
part in its struggles on the broad prairies of our young commonwealth are doubt-
less grateful for the Providence that led them to be participators in this great 
work.

	The history of South Dakota Methodism would be incomplete without an 
extended notice of Dakota University.  As early as 1882 steps were taken looking 
to the establishment of a college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal 
church.  At the third session of the mission conference, held at Parker, a 
commission was appointed to receive bids from any town desiring the location of 
an institution of learning. At the next session of the mission conference, which 
was held in Huron in 1883, this commission laid before the conference three bids 
which had been received from Mitchell, Ordway and Huron.  After much discussion 
the conference decided to accept both the bids of Mitchell and Ordway.  This 
action resulted in a misunderstanding and dissatisfaction throughout the 
conference and only resulted in delaying the work of establishing a school. 
Another year found that neither of the favored towns had complied with the 
conditions.  It soon became evident that one institution was all that the 
conference should undertake to sustain.  In 1885 the first college building at 
Mitchell was about completed, and in the fall of that year the school was opened 
for students.  Rev. William Brush, D. D., was the first president, and he was 
supported by a small but very efficient faculty.  The second year witnessed the 
improvement of the property.  The chapel and halls were finished, and the 
dormitories made more comfortable.  The faculty was enlarged and inducements 
offered for students to attend.  The attendance soon exceeded one hundred, and 
the future appeared highly promising, when, on March 9, 1888, the fine college 
building was destroyed by fire.  This irreparable loss resulted in the death of 
two students and the injury of several others. Notwithstanding this calamity, 
the work was continued in temporary quarters provided by the citizens of 
Mitchell.  The work of re-adjusting the affairs of the college was immediately 
undertaken, and steps taken to replace the first building with one better 
arranged and equipped than the former for the work of a growing school.  To this 
work the citizens of Mitchell unitedly gave their support and made possible the 
erection of the present building, which is recognized as one of the best of its 
kind within the borders of our state.  It is a beautiful and commodious 
structure built of granite, four stories high, one hundred and ten feet front by 
eighty-seven deep, containing thirty-seven rooms, used for recitations, library 
and chapel.

	The fall of 1889 witnessed the reopening of the college in the present 
main building and the permanent establishment of Dakota University. Dr. Brush, 
having witnessed the accomplishment of this great work, which in its magnitude 
and importance will appear more clearly in future years than at the present, 
resigned the presidency to accept an appointment in the diplomatic service of 
the government.  After a time, Prof. C. O. Merica was selected as his successor.  
He remained at the head of the school one year.

	In connection with the initial period of Dakota University may be found 
many names worthy of mention, for the sacrifice and devotion displayed by them 
in the establishment of this institution.  No account would be  complete, 
however, without reference at least to Prof. and Mrs. F. C. Eastman, Miss Dell 
Noble, Prof. L. A. Stout and Prof. T. A. Duncan, who gave their best efforts to 
the upbuilding of the college. Many laymen and ministers of Dakota conference 
are deserving of recognition for the part they bore in these years of arduous 
struggle. Suffice it to say they did not labor for reward or with the 
expectation of securing the plaudits of man, but that an institution of learning 
worthy of the denomination it represents might be founded on tile prairies of 
our young commonwealth.

	In 1893 Rev. W. I. Graham, D. D., was elected to the presidency.  The 
selection was most fortunate. Dr. Graham, by his careful management of the 
affairs of the college, during the ten years of his administration, brought the 
school up to the front rank of the best institutions of the state.  In every 
respect Dakota University soon came to take its place by the side of the other 
institutions; and the work accomplished during this period reflects great credit 
upon those who administered its affairs. During this period of its history the 
college met its current expenses, and a floating indebtedness of nearly ten 
thousand dollars was provided for, largely through the liberality and sacrifice 
of the ministry of the Dakota conference.  In 1899, under the impetus of the 
Twentieth Century Thank-offering movement, by which the Methodist Episcopal 
church raised twenty millions of dollars, the Dakota conference as its part of 
the movement undertook to raise thirty-five thousand dollars to erect on the 
college campus Century Memorial Hall. The work was impeded somewhat by the 
general attention of the churches being directed to the paying off of old 
indebtednesses; notwithstanding, however, the work has gone on steadily and at 
the present time is nearing completion.  The principal event in connection with 
the commencement of 1904 will be the dedication of this new building.  This is 
one of the most substantial college buildings in the west.  It is as absolutely 
fireproof as a building can be made. With all modern conveniences, the new hall 
will add very much to the facilities of the college to care for its increasing 
constituency.

	Upon the resignation of Dr. W. I. Graham as president, in the fall of 
1903, the Rev. Thomas Nicholson, D. D., of Cornell College, was chosen as his 
successor. Dr. Nicholson comes to his new task with a well-earned reputation as 
an educator of the first rank.  Under his masterful leader-ship a new impetus 
will be given to every department of the college work.  The college department 
is being doubled and other improvements made that will put this institution in 
the forefront of colleges of this character in the west. The library has been 
increased by donation about one-third, and in every respect the future of Dakota 
University was never brighter.

	The introduction of Methodism into the Black Hills furnishes the historian 
with ample material for a chapter of as heroic sacrifices as were ever made by 
the Methodist itinerants in the earlier periods of the movement.  The first 
preacher of the gospel to enter that region was the Rev. Henry Weston Smith, a 
regularly ordained minister of the Methodist Episcopal church, who of his own 
accord went into the Black Hills to minister to the spiritual wants of the 
people in the early, turbulent period previous to the opening of that section to 
white settlement and the extension of civil government over that part of South 
Dakota. This heroic preacher began his labors at Custer City in a log house, 
with sawdust floor, where he preached in the forenoon and evening of Sunday, May 
7, 1876. He held services in the same place the following Sunday.  On May 22d he 
left Custer City and three days later preached in camp on Box Elder, arriving in 
Deadwood May 27th. The first authentic record of services held in Deadwood is to 
the effect that he preached on the corner of Main and Gold streets on Sunday, 
July 9, 1876. It is not improbable, however, that he held services previous to 
that time in the same manner, of which we have no record.  That the Rev. Mr. 
Smith conducted a series of open-air services on the streets of Deadwood is 
evident. It is recorded of his labors that it was no uncommon sight to see him 
hold the attention of one end of a crowd, while at the other end a broker or 
prospector was exploiting his business before the same motley throng. To the 
everlasting credit of the early pioneers and adventurers that thronged the 
streets of Deadwood in those days it can be said they manifested such profound 
respect for the minister and the message he sought to give them that in his 
public ministrations he was never disturbed or molested. On Sunday, August 20, 
1876, he attempted to walk to Crook City to hold services, against the 
remonstrances of his friends who warned him of his danger. He had proceeded only 
a few miles from Deadwood when he was shot by an Indian in ambush.  Information 
soon reached the city and a strong scouting party was organized and started in 
pursuit of the Indians. The pursuers soon surrounded the murderer and he was 
ultimately killed ; but not until he had shot into the party, killing one of the 
men. The body of the murdered preacher was found lying where he fell, his hands 
folded across his breast, clasping his Bible and hymn book.  He was not scalped 
nor otherwise mutilated, his murderer probably surmising his calling.  The body 
of the Rev. Henry W. Smith, the martyred Black Hills missionary, lies in the 
church lot of Mt. Moriah cemetery at Deadwood, and his last resting place is 
marked by a life-size figure standing on a square pedestal, which bears the 
inscription. The monument is of native red standstone and was erected in 
October, 1891, by his "Black Hills Friends."

	At the seventh session of the Northwest Iowa conference, held at Cherokee, 
Iowa, with Bishop Jesse T. Peck presiding, the Rev. James Williams was appointed 
a missionary to Deadwood.  This was the beginning of organized work under the 
auspices of the Methodist Episcopal church in the Black Hills. In the fall of 
1879, at the next session of the above conference, held in Sioux City, Iowa, 
Bishop W. L. Harris made of the Black Hills work a district, and appointed the 
Rev. James Williams presiding elder. In addition to this appointment Mr. 
Williamis was continued as pastor at Deadwood. Rev. William Fielder and Rev. A. 
J. Whitfield were assigned to Central City and Lead respectively. In the year 
1880 the Black Hills was organized as a mission by Bishop Warren, and the Rev. 
James Williams appointed the superintendent. The names of Ira Wakefield, R. H. 
Dolliver and W. D. Phifer appear in the list of appointments.  Two ministers, 
with the bishop, constituted the membership of the first annual meeting of the 
Black Hills mission.  At the second session, held in Deadwood, August 12, 1881, 
the Rev. Jesse D. Searles was appointed the superintendent. In 1884 he was 
succeeded by the Rev. James Williams, who served four years. In 1888 the Rev. J. 
B. Carnes was appointed. The Rev. E. E. Clough was his successor in 1896, and in 
1902 the present incumbent, the Rev. C. B. Clark, D. D., was appointed.

	The first religious organization effected by the Methodist Episcopal 
church in the Black Hills was at Central City.  In the month of December, 1877, 
Judge David B. Ogden, assisted by some earnest local workers, held a series of 
revival meetings. In November, 1878, upon the first visit of the Rev. James 
Williams, the first quarterly meeting was held.

	The work was opened at Deadwood in October of the above year by Rev. James 
Williams. In the great fire of September 26, 1879, all that had been accumulated 
was consumed.  Despite many discouragements some progress was made, and on March 
4, 1883, a church was dedicated, costing six thousand seven hundred dollars. It 
will be difficult to find the record of appalling disaster following so closely 
upon complete success.  On May 18, in the great flood, the entire property was 
swept away and the commercial value of the lot utterly destroyed.  After much 
difficulty another location was found and a fine church building erected 
thereon.  A fine parsonage property has been secured, and after many years' 
struggle with a heavy indebtedness, the church is now enjoying increasing 
prosperity. Recently the second church has been organized in Deadwood.

	In Lead in 1880, the Rev. W. D. Phifer organized the Methodist Episcopal 
church, and the following year witnessed the erection and dedication of the 
church.

	The Rev. Ira Wakefield was one of the most efficient workers in the 
pioneer days of the Black Hills.  He organized the church at Crook City, now 
Whitewood, in 1879.  In 1880 he organized the work at Custer and succeeded in 
building a church. At Rapid City he organized the church in i88i, which has 
since become one of the strongest Methodist church organizations in the Black 
Hills.

	Among those who by their self-sacrifice and toil laid the foundations of 
our work in this difficult and ever-changing field we find the names of W. D.  
Atwater, J.  O. Dobson, J. W. Hancher, H. A. James, E. E. Lymer, D. W. Tracy and 
C. M. Ward. These men, and doubtless others not brought to the writer's notice, 
were worthy representatives of the church in a field where only the highest 
ability and tactful leadership could command attention and compel success.  They 
were men of faith and consecration, as evidenced by their large plans for the 
future prosperity of the church, and the sacrifices made to realize their 
ideals.

	The founding of the Black Hills College at Hot Springs, in 1890, under the 
auspices of the mission, and its maintenance for ten years as a center of 
religious training deserves more than a passing mention.  The devotion of Dr. J. 
W. Hancher, the first president, and of his successor, the Rev. E. E. Lymer, to 
the unequal task of establishing the college is worthy of all praise. 
Unfortunate  complications arising after the resignation of Dr. Lymer resulted 
finally in closing the doors of the institution.

	In 1888 the work was organized as a mission conference, and in 1896 as an 
annual conference. In 1901, however, the original form of organization was 
resumed, which has been found to be the best for that field.

	At the present time Methodism is well established in the Black Hills and, 
notwithstanding the peculiar difficulties of the field, is exercising a potent 
influence for good throughout the borders of the mission. The church membership, 
as reported at the last annual meeting, is one thousand one hundred and ninety-
four.  There are enrolled in the twenty-seven Sunday schools, including the 
officers and teachers, one thousand nine hundred and  sixty-one.   Twenty-eight 
churches and thirteen parsonages are valued at eighty thousand two hundred 
dollars.

	At the time of the general settlement of the eastern part of the state 
work was opened up among the Germans and Scandinavians. Among the former a 
number of churches were organized and the work constituted a district. At 
Redfield, Parker and other points prosperous churches are maintained as the 
result of the faithful and efficient labors of German Methodist ministers. The 
work among the Norwegians and Danes has not been so extensive, but of no less 
heroic character and is worthy of more extended notice.

	The Canton Epworth League Assembly, established in 1901, under the 
auspices of the Epworth Leagues of the  Sioux  Falls  district, promises to 
become a potent factor in the pro-motion of all that the young people's movement 
in the Methodist Episcopal church stands for. It has become one of the leading 
assemblies of the Northwest, and sustains each year a program the equal of the 
best given in our state.  The fine auditorium and beautiful park situated on the 
banks of the Big Sioux river, within the corporate limits of the Gate City of 
South Dakota, stands as a monument to the Rev. J. O. Dobson, D. D., who, as 
presiding elder of the Sioux Falls district, conceived the idea and wrought 
successfully to realize the establishment of the assembly. Recognizing the 
fitness of things, upon the motion of citizens of Canton, the assembly grounds 
were named Dobson Park.